Mr. Todd Shrader is currently serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) in the Office of Environmental Management (EM). In this role he works to enable the safe and successful execution of the EM mission, while providing management oversight of activities, operations, and program integration across DOE field sites.
Prior to becoming the PDAS he served as the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager from October 2015 until June 2019. Under Mr. Shrader’s leadership, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) successfully restarted waste emplacement operations and the shipping of waste from around the DOE Complex to WIPP after a nearly three-year recovery effort. The CBFO provides federal oversight to the National Transuranic Program (NTP) and WIPP, the nation’s only geological repository for the disposal of defense related nuclear waste. During this time, he was awarded a Meritorious Service Presidential Rank Award.
Mr. Shrader previously served as the Director of the DOE headquarters office responsible for supporting Hanford’s Office of River Protection and held a leading role in developing a path forward that allowed for accelerated treatment of Hanford tank waste. Prior to that, he was assigned to DOE’s Office of Loan Programs, where he led technical reviews of over twenty energy generation projects that eventually received over $13 billion in loan guarantees. Earlier, he was a project manager for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, leading key components of the NRC licensing process for the Yucca Mountain Project.
He began his DOE career at the Hanford Site and held various positions including service as the Hanford Site TRU Program Manager and the Facility Area Engineer for the Pretreatment Facility at the Waste Treatment Plant.
Mr. Shrader earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree in Engineering from North Carolina State University. He is registered Professional Engineer. He was appointed to Senior Executive Service in November 2012.

Mr. McConnell is the NNSA Associate Administrator for Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations. He is responsible for safety, infrastructure, packaging, nuclear materials integration and sustainment & environmental programs. He is also the NNSA Central Technical Authority responsible for overall safety policy and interpretation throughout NNSA.
Previously, he held several positions within NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs including Associate Deputy Administrator for Infrastructure & Operations. He was the first Chief of Defense Nuclear Safety for NNSA. Mr. McConnell also held several senior positions at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board including Deputy Technical Director.
A former U.S. Navy submarine officer, he holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Academy and two master’s degrees in engineering.

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM

NETWORKING BREAK

10:30 AM – 11:15 AM

Best Practices: Assessments for NNSS/Y-12 incident

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Challenges to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and Alternatives for Interim Storage

NETWORKING BREAK

Mercury Challenge Update

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

NETWORKING RECEPTION

Wednesday | September 9

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 AM – 9:15 AM

General Accounting Office (GAO) Update

Speakers will present an overview of GAO’s recent work related to the Department of Energy’s growing environmental liabilities, which was added to GAO’s High Risk List in 2017. Session will include an update on GAO’s recent reviews of Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, cleanup of the gaseous diffusion plants, DOE’s Office of Legacy Management, and risk-informed decision-making.

Allison Bawden serves as a Director in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Natural Resources & Environment (NRE) team in Washington, D.C. Ms. Bawden leads GAO’s congressional oversight portfolio related to domestic and international nuclear security and cleanup. Before becoming a GAO executive, Ms. Bawden spent more than a decade in NRE managing audits and evaluations of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, nuclear weapons modernization programs, and nuclear security enterprise infrastructure. During her executive training at GAO, Ms. Bawden served as an Acting Director in GAO’s Education, Workforce & Income Security and Strategic Issues teams, where she led a portfolio that included issues on student debt, retirement security, federal grants management, and worker protection. Ms. Bawden has testified before Congress, and her teams’ work has resulted in numerous improvements to federal operations as well as $1.2 billion in financial benefits to American taxpayers.
Ms. Bawden graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. She also holds a master’s degree in public administration from American University and has completed additional graduate course work in national security studies at the United States Naval War College. Allison also completed American University’s Key Executive Leadership Certificate Program and holds a graduate specialization in Design Thinking and Innovation from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business executive education program. In addition to her role at GAO, Allison is a member of the adjunct faculty at American University’s School of Public Affairs, where she serves as an instructor in the university’s Master of Public Policy and Administration program.

Amanda Kolling

Assistant Director

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Amanda Kolling serves as an Assistant Director for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC. Amanda joined the GAO in 2007 and leads GAO’s work on the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup activities, including recent reviews of the Hanford Site, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and cleanup of the gaseous diffusion plants. Prior to becoming an Assistant Director, Amanda spent over a decade serving as the analyst-in-charge on reviews related to nuclear waste treatment, uranium management, nonproliferation, and agriculture emergency response efforts. Amanda holds a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and an undergraduate degree in international affairs and economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, Amanda also graduated from the National Defense University’s Program for Emerging Leaders in Weapons of Mass Destruction.

9:15 AM – 10:00 AM

Soil and Groundwater Remediation Best Practices

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM

NETWORKING BREAK

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Commercial Technology Capabilities for Waste Management Processes

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Transitioning Sites from Waste Generation/Disposition to Pit Production

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

NETWORKING LUNCHEON

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Spent Fuel Transportation

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Waste Isolation Processing Pilot Plant (WIPP) Update

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM

NETWORKING BREAK

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM

Legacy Clean Up activities at Nevada National Security Site

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

New World Order: Enhanced Safety Protocols and Emergency Operations Planning

5:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Conference Ends

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ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums publishes professional newsletters and creates, manages and sponsors forums, colloquiums, and workshops to facilitate an exchange of views and information on critical programs and policies. Areas of focus include the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and the cleanup of the nuclear legacy of the Manhattan Project and the Cold War; the National Nuclear Security Administrative and the current U.S. nuclear weapons complex; and the commercial radioactive waste industry.